


The Strings Girl

by ConorMacNessa



Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConorMacNessa/pseuds/ConorMacNessa
Summary: Neal meets a gorgeous lady, but doesn't feel ready to introduce her to Peter. Peter knows that something is going on, but he just isn't sure what.
Relationships: Neal Caffrey/Alexis MacGuire, Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

It was warm out, and warm inside too. Neal was tired of eating sandwiches for lunch in the slightly stuffy FBI office, and after begging for an early lunch from Peter, made straight for the nearest park.  
He made a beeline for his favorite bench, hoping to spend half an hour relaxing in the fresh air before returning to the FBI.  
But there, on his bench, sat a girl.  
And not just a girl. A small, barefoot one. Her cute little button shoes and long socks sat next to her on the bench, and her tiny toes wriggled in the grass as she sat there, her eyes half shut in ecstasy.  
Neal's heart stopped for a long moment, then started back up twice as hard.   
"You've commandeered my bench," he said, unable for once to think of anything clever to say.  
Her eyes snapped open and her head whipped around. She had deep blue eyes, guileless and innocent as a forest creature. She was not particularly pretty with her slightly round face, straight little nose and the dusting of freckles all over her nose and cheekbones, but she was beautiful in a bone deep way. Neal stared. Then she smiled at him, the lights dancing in her eyes.  
"There is enough room here for two people." she said.   
Mesmerized, Neal sat down.  
"Do you often come here?" he asked.  
"No, I only came here to the city just a few weeks ago. I'm still getting used to it."  
"Where are you from?" he persisted.  
"I'm from Montana." she replied.  
Neal was astounded. "Montana? How did you end up here?"  
"I'm a violinist, cellist, bassist and violist. I was given the opportunity to play in the Orchestra here. It's arguably the best in the country, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity. But it's awfully lonely here. I think you're the first person here who has just stopped to talk. Back home I knew everybody, and when I went shopping for groceries in town, I'd meet half a dozen people I'd stop to talk to. Here everyone is in such a rush it's like the world is shutting down tomorrow." the words spilled out in a rush, the girl's cute face creasing in disappointment.   
"You're right." Neal agreed, a little hesitantly. "It is an awfully busy place, and it can be lonely if you don't know anyone." he took a breath and gathered up his courage. "But now you know me!"  
She smiled at him in some amusement. "I don't actually, you know."  
Neal smiled at her blindingly. "Neal Caffrey, at your service at all times." he said, jumping up to bow to her.  
She laughed delightedly. "Alexis MacGuire," she replied, dropping an elegant courtesy.   
She looked up at him with her innocent blue eyes and smiled as if they shared a precious secret, and Neal felt his heart go into her keeping, willing and irrevocably.   
"I'm playing Carnival of the Animals with the orchestra tonight, and I am doing a cello solo for the first time here. Would... Would you like to come? I... I have complimentary tickets, but I don't know anyone to give them to." she offered hesitantly.  
It too good to be true. That concert was sold out weeks ago. It was also a little out of his radius. But he couldn't disappoint her. He'd find a way by hook or crook.  
"I'll be there, come hell or high water." he told her fervently.  
"You'd make an OK Montanan." she told him with a smile. "I'll see you tonight." She picked up her stockings and dexterously slid them on under her long skirt while Neal watched helplessly. As she buttoned her retro high button shoes, he remembered something. "I never got your number!"   
She got up with a smile. "I'll give it to you tonight, Mr. Caffrey."   
"I'll hold you to that, Miss MacGuire."  
She walked off down the path, leaving Neal with the same shivering delight he had felt as a teenager meeting Kate for the first time. A glance at his watch showed him that he had squandered his lunch time and he had better hurry back before Peter came for him. Looking at the tickets, he smiled all over his face and tucked them into his breast pocket before turning and loping back the way he had come. 

Peter sensed something different about his CI the moment he fairly floated into the office, his eyes twinkling and his face wreathed in smiles.   
He beckoned him to the office immediately.   
"Ok, what's going on?" he demanded.  
Neal didn't even try to skirt the subject. "I have tickets to Carnival of the Animals tonight!" he burst out. "Three tickets!!" He produced them with a flourish.   
Peter was unimpressed. "And that venue is out of your radius, so that doesn't do you much good."  
"Oh come on, Peter! You and El can come with me. She'll love it! The theater is being decorated with classical art relevant to the music, and it's been sold out for weeks!"  
"Sorry." Peter shrugged. "Date night tonight. That means me, El, a movie and an long evening in. No weird paintings and classical music. And especially no Neal."  
"Peter! This is the event of the year!! At least ask her! There is no way she'll want to miss it! Besides, it's one of those concerts that you couldn't buy tickets for even if they were for sale! Please, Peter!"  
"No."  
"You've got to be joking! Why?"  
"Because I don't want to wear a tux with a bow tie, I don't like mixing with the one percent, I want to spend the evening with El, I want to watch the last Jason Bourne movie and I want to eat fried chicken."  
Neal's face fell. "Right now I sympathize with Jason Bourne's need to destroy the upper echelons of the FBI and CIA."  
Peter laughed. "Tell you what. You ask anyone else in the office, and you can go with anyone who will take you. But absolutely do not leave their sight! Diana would probably go with you."  
"I'll ask Jones, I guess. You're missing out, Peter."  
After Neal had left, Peter sat ruminating for a while. It wasn't particularly unusual for Neal to beg for an escort to some artistic event outside his radius, but this had seemed a little more vital to him somehow. And 'I'll ask Jones.'? Usually Neal targeted Peter, then Diana, then Jones. So why not Diana tonight? Jones wasn't much of an art or classical sort of guy, whereas Diana fed off that sort of thing. Was Caffrey crushing on some girl in the orchestra? Suddenly Peter wished he had taken Neal up on those tickets.

Thank you for reading! If you liked it, let me know and I will post some more of it. (I know it's not that great.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neal goes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and Happy Thanksgiving!  
> I'm back and forth about this chapter, and if anyone has any great ideas about how to make it better, I'm all ears!

Jones had taken some convincing, but he had at last agreed to accompany Neal to the concert. Neal's heart had jumped into his throat at the first glimpse of Alexis.  
She first row violin, and heartbreakingly beautiful in her simple dove grey gown. His cute little country mouse had no cleavage or shoulder showing, and no slit in her skirt like the rest of the violinists. She had a classy style, much like June, that rose above the crowd. 

The concert made it's way through the virtual zoo, Neal admiring the music and Jones admiring the ladies.  
"... And now, ladies and gentlemen, we will have our popular cello solo, the Swan. Tonight our soloist is a very talented and very young lady who's certain to excite the admiration of everyone here. Seventeen year old Alexis MacGuire will now give us the highlight of the evening, Camille Saint-Saens The Swan!"  
Neal watched as Alexis seated herself elegantly down with the huge instrument.  
"Aw!" Jones whispered next to him. "Just look at that sweet little girl! I bet her daddy's here somewhere with a bouquet of roses."

It suddenly occurred to Neal that as far as the FBI knew, he was almost thirty. Quite a bit too old to make a play for a seventeen year old. He would have to be a little more stealthy. Come to think of it, he could be charged with statutory rape if he even dated her. That would not be easy to get out of. But maybe marriage right from the start?

Neal startled himself with the thought, but then saw himself with Alexis every morning, able to make love to her every night and morning, to come home to that dancing smile every day. Since the loss of Kate, he had been lonely, haunted by the things he should have had; love, companionship, comfort, children. Alexis was already knit into his heart. Something so perfect and strong would be wrong to ignore. Neal was not a fool. He knew perfectly well that Alexis had felt the same stab of Cupid's arrow. And as he had told Peter himself, he was a one woman man.

After the concert, Neal ducked backstage under the pretext of needing to visit the men's room.   
Alexis was waiting for him, and to his amazement, she went straight into his arms and hugged him. The feel of her in his arms was bliss.   
He inhaled shakily.  
His nostrils filled with the scent of roses and lavender, which he recognized as fine Florentine soap.  
"You came!" she whispered.  
"I always will." he whispered back. "So, do I get your number?"  
"Of course you do," she smiled. "Call me soon. I think... I think we might have something wonderful." she gave him a card with a number on it. He accepted it gratefully. "I know we will."

Neal's days suddenly held more. More everything. He got up every morning knowing that he would see Alexis at lunch. Every day they did something new. One day they paid a fiddler to play a waltz and danced to the music. Another day she brought a picnic basket filled with delicious little pastries and salads which she had made herself. Neal had gone and bought a bottle of wine to go with it, and they had laughed about under aged drinking while they savored each other's company.  
Sometimes when Neal only had a short lunch, they bought sandwiches from a cart and ate them while walking the park holding hands.  
Alexis loved Neal. He felt it in every look, every touch, every gesture. She was also a virgin. An innocent virgin. She let him greet her with an embrace, but he knew somehow that she wouldn't let him kiss her just yet. And he didn't dare invite her back to his place. It was so different from anything he had experienced.   
They had been meeting every day for a week before Neal finally brought it up.  
He had gotten out of the office for lunch a little early, bought a dozen red roses, and met Alexis in the park.  
She accepted the roses solemnly, knowing exactly what they meant, but waiting for him to say it.  
"I... Alexis, I love you." Neal breathed it out. "I love everything about you, and I can't imagine a world without you in it. I love you so very much." he took a deep breath. "But there's something I have to show you." he hitched up his trouser leg to display the anklet.   
Alexis said nothing for a while, and then took his hand in her tiny one.  
"My dad was in prison once too. He shot the sheriff dead when the sheriff was trying to molest a child. I know there are a lot of good people who go in and out of prison. And Neal, I know your soul. I don't even care what you did. I love you too."  
Tears sprang into Neal's eyes. "Alexis, please marry me. I want to have you safe by my side every night so I don't have to worry that in the morning I'll find you were just a dream. I never hurt or killed anyone. I was a forger." He dropped to one knee and proffered the ring. Alexis wordlessly offered her left hand. Neal Caffrey was engaged to be married.  
Now how was he supposed to explain this to Peter?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter begins to have suspicions.

Neal wanted to tell everyone that he was engaged, but he didn't quite know how. Except Mozzie.  
Mozzie met Alexis and immediately liked her. Alexis was quiet and shy with new people, and hid behind Neal until Mozzie drew her out. Before long, she had him telling her stories that the FBI would have dearly loved to hear.  
Mozzie nodded wisely when Neal finally explained that he'd never told anyone at the FBI about Alexis.  
"Wise choice, mon frère." he said. "You'll have to have Alexis's father or her mother sign a paper releasing guardianship of Alexis to you because she is technically still a minor, and I expect that while Steve Tabernacle or Victor Moreau could pull that off, the FBI might consider a convicted felon an unfit guardian for a beautiful young woman. Also they might consider that they could refuse you the right to marry. You can never tell with suits."  
Neal hadn't thought of that. "Will it still be legal?" he asked.   
"I'm not entirely sure that the suits can't annul it if they find out before her eighteenth birthday. When is that, by the way, my dear?" replied Mozzie.  
"It's not for another year. I just turned seventeen a month ago."  
Neal felt a little tiny bit guilty. He was only twenty six, not the thirty that Peter thought, but it was a larger age gap than was usual. But true love was not something that cared about who it touched and it was a blessing that should be welcomed.  
"Well, aside from a fake ID, which probably wouldn't hold up long enough, I would suggest waiting on introducing the beautiful Mrs. Caffrey until you can present them with fait accomplit, in other words, until her next birthday, or until she's pregnant." Mozzie decided.  
Neal felt a thrill of pleasure at the idea of children with Alexis. It would be so much fun! Teaching them to pick pockets and paint, and how to spot fakes and forgeries! Alexis smiled at him. "I'd like that. Well, I've told my parents about you. I guess the next thing is having them come here so we can get married?"  
To Mozzie's disgust, Neal's only reply was in the form of an action.

Neal had been acting strangely lately, Peter thought.  
He was less and less interested in the cases, even the exciting ones. He was still above excellent in performance, but he couldn't wait to leave in the evening and no longer joined him or Jones for lunch. Despite this, he wasn't acting shifty. He was acting blissfully. .. A woman? Peter wondered about that. Usually he was kept in the loop of Neal's social life, such as it was.   
He decided to do some digging. Neal might not say anything if it were someone like Alex Hunter. And he knew she was bad news.   
Discreetly, he decided to follow Neal on his next lunch break.  
Neal left early and went a bistro near the office, where he was met not by a woman but by a man. One about Peter's age, perhaps a little younger. He was dressed in a light blue button up shirt and sturdy jeans meant for work, and he wore riding boots.   
"Hi!" Neal greeted him. "I'm really sorry I couldn't meet you when you came in, but c'est la vié. I guess you want to run me through the wringer?"  
The man smiled a little. He had a very weathered tan, and his teeth were startlingly white. "Smart man. Y'also look kinda like a model. Y' any good at hauling boxes or building shelves? 'Cause I tell ya what, they'll work ya down to a nubbin if ya don't come home lookin' tired at night."   
They laughed together and disappeared into the bistro. Peter's listening device couldn't pick up anything else. But Peter could only think of one reason why someone would want to cross examine Neal.   
A job. 

Allen MacGuire was a world apart from the usual run of people Neal ran into. He had a dry sense of humor, little interest in money although Neal could tell he wanted for little or nothing, and he hated urban living.  
"I had t'come and meet ya if you want to marry Alexis, y'know." he began. "But I hate cities. Billings is bad enough, but this is Hell. I like ya fine. Bein' honest an' all. Seems like you're a good fit for her. I'll sign the papers making you the guardian and whatnot. But I'm going to tell you something once and never again, 'kay? If you cheat on her or mess up her life, I'll come after you and I will make you wish to high heaven you were dead. The MacGuires aren't alley cats. That said, you can come to the ranch whenever you're so inclined. It's in a safe zone. I mean it's in a place where no law enforcement goes, besides that I have a sovereign land patent."  
Neal was touched. It was a princely offer among criminals to proffer their own refuges to others.  
They finished their stiff little lunch quickly after that, and Neal went back to the Bureau to finish up his case load so he could go to the courthouse with Alexis and Allen and Mozzie. 

"Hey Boss. I ran that face you asked about." Clinton Jones stepped into Peter's office with a file.  
"He was in the system?"  
"Not ours, and it took a while because it is out of state, but here it is. Allen MacGuire. He's been in prison but he was vindicated and he doesn't have a criminal record. He's got a cattle ranch in Montana."  
"Is he rich?"  
"Not particularly. Not enough to be hiring Neal, if that's what you're thinking."  
"Well, thanks, Jones. Neal, what are you up to?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure I like this too well, but I do have an idea of how to make it more interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I trimmed this a bit to make it fit for polite company, but if it seems inappropriate to anyone, I am happy to take out the shears again.

Neither Neal nor Alexis could imagine getting married in everyday evening wear, so with a little help from Mozzie and June, Alexis arrived at the courthouse in a beautiful white couture gown with a slight spray of diamonds and pearls on the bodice. Her platinum blonde hair sported a single white lily. Her father held her hand, himself dressed in what Neal could only call a cowboy tux. He was even wearing cowboy boots under his Armani slacks.  
Neal had outdone himself. One gets married only once, so he had dug through every possible shop and boutique to find the perfect ensemble. He had found a formal suit and a tailor to fit it, complete with swallow tails, gloves, and the discerning shop owner had added onyx cufflinks, telling him that with a suit like that, diamonds would only look like sprinkles on a wedding cake.   
Now he was actually here. He was so nervous that he was afraid that he was shaking, but Alexis was the prize of a lifetime, that one score that could never be topped.  
He took her little hand in his own, and faced the Justice of the Peace.  
When the little ritual was over, Allen signed some paperwork and passed it over to Neal. "Sign on the dotted line, and this pretty little thing is your responsibility."   
Neal signed, heart in his mouth. He wished Peter was here. Except Peter would certainly be opening his mouth when asked if anyone knew of reasons why this couple should not be joined.  
"Good. Now let's head over to the church and get you two married in the eyes of God. The Law doesn't provide any graces, you know. Allen has been telling me all about it, and it's a government scam. They've replaced the sacrament of marriage with this office thing so that people don't have graces to stay married and the state rakes in millions of dollars in fees when divorce and remarriage come around!" Mozzie stated firmly.   
The tiny church in Neal's radius was the chapel for a religious order, and still had beautiful statuary and stained glass windows.  
Alexis repeated the ancient vows, and Neal was slightly shocked at the wording of the original Catholic vows. He had never been to a Catholic wedding, and he had never thought to hear a priest instruct him to promise his wife "with my body, I thee worship."  
But there was something wholesome and untainted in the unselfconscious promise of fidelity and physical love as well as spiritual.  
"Congratulations, you two." Allen smiled. "I'm not going to be a jerk and invite you two to dinner or for cake. Tomorrow we can do that, before I leave. Right now, I have one last thing for you before you go. Neal, I know you're not Scottish, but this is family tradition and it's a delightful way to embarrass newcomers to our clan. Hold out your hands, clasped. Yes." he drew a long white ribbon out of his breast pocket and began to wind it around their hands, fastening them together. When the ribbon was fully wound around their hands and forearms, he tied it. "You don't untie it until you've made it legal."   
Neal was surprised to learn that he could still blush. And perhaps more surprised when Alexis didn't seem to know what Allen was talking about. 

Back at the office, Peter pored over Neal's tracking data. Boutiques all afternoon. Not unusual. Then the courthouse? That was a little more strange. Next stop the Chapel of the Friars Minor? What on earth could he be doing there? He knew Neal was a Catholic, but had somehow assumed that he was lapsed in his observation of it.   
Neal was home now, though. Maybe he would drop by tomorrow morning and catch him off guard. Nothing was ever straightforward with Neal.

Neal was lying at home, filled to the brim with the riches of life. Alexis was cradled in his arms, satisfied and sleepy in the aftermath of making it legal. She had soft, silky skin, satiny hair that tickled his chest, soft lips that tasted just a little like fruit, and she was a very shy lover. But she was implicitly trusting, and Neal knew a great contentment, and also knew that he would never have enough.   
Life would be perfect if he could just tell Peter and El. 

Peter was looking forward to that perfect Italian roast to start off his day as he climbed the stairs to Neal's apartment. He was just turning the doorknob when he heard Neal laugh, breathlessly, and then there was a smothered giggle from inside. Baffled, he opened the door- and stood in shocked horror. Neal and a female companion lay on his bed, thankfully covered, but there was no mistaking the context. Neal's head whipped around and his face twisted in almost comical dismay.

"Ok." Neal panted, after a few excruciating seconds rolled past. "New rule. Knock."  
"Oh. Oh wow, Neal, I'm so sorry!" Peter blundered.  
Neal, still curled protectively around the lady, smiled a little thinly. "Wait outside please, while I put some work clothes on. I think maybe we can get coffee somewhere else this morning." 

Peter was not too shocked to notice that the look on Neal's face was utterly besotted. But there was very little in Peter's life that was as embarrassing as barging in on Neal Caffrey in flagrante dilecto. He hurriedly backed out the door and shut it firmly. Inside, he heard Caffrey murmuring soothingly to his companion, and the girl replying.   
There were bustling sounds of dressing, and Neal's voice again. "I almost wish you didn't have to go to work today. You'll be home late, won't you?"  
"Can you button the back of this, Neal? Thank you. Yes, we have to practice at nine tonight, as a group. I have second violin today though! It's a big step up from fourth. Monsieur Guittard has been teaching me so much, it's just amazing! When do you get off of work? Is it always the same? You could come and have dinner with us. Felice is having a working dinner for the strings at seven."   
"Where is it? I think I could be there. I am supposed to get off work at five."  
"Le Rosé Bleu over next to the gymnasium. It is French cuisine. Felice always gets French. Did you know that the French only started eating snails during the great siege of Paris? It's not as if they are truly a good food. It's just that the French were embarrassed to admit that they were eating slugs because they were starving. I don't mind frog legs, but escargot is a little much." Neal laughed. It was a delighted, sincerely happy laugh. Peter was curious. "I'll be there. We can have crêpes or filet mignon. No escargot for you, madame. Oh, are we supposed to do something with this ribbon?" at this comment, both voices burst into giggles. "We can keep it here. Or you could use it for a garter string. May I tie it on you, my enchanting undine?" More giggling. More rustling. Then the girl's voice. "You look perfect now."  
Neal's voice replied, "Thank you. And so do you. I'll see you as soon as I get away. Will you meet me for lunch today?"  
"We should meet my dad for lunch. I'll text you where if you text me when!" there was the sound of kissing, and Neal breezed through the doorway, shutting it right behind him so Peter never caught a glimpse of whoever was with him in there.  
"That was a little much, Peter. You should knock!" he scolded as soon as they were downstairs.   
"You never said you were seeing someone!" Peter defended himself.   
Neal smirked to himself. Peter knew that look. He saw it in the mirror when El was particularly frisky.  
"So, tell me about her!" he nudged.   
"She's a musician, and something special. So we aren't talking about her because we don't need to jinx this, and I don't want to talk about her right after you walked in on us!"  
Peter didn't push, but he knew he would be looking into this further.


End file.
